The Day I Died
by Hisa-Me Kurai
Summary: I'm not the type to win awards or get noticed, and I have incredibly bad luck - this is the story of the day I died...and how my luck made a turn, but I can't tell if its for the better, or worst.
1. Bang

[A/N: I suddenly felt inspired today, so I decided to write this up and post it; depending on the response I get, I may or may not continue with this story. Enjoy.]

* * *

I'm not the type of person whose ever had particularly good luck...in any aspect of my life.

I've never won over any of the guys I like, no matter how qualified I seem to be, any job I apply for is given to someone else; my alarm clock has a long history of shutting itself off, so I'm chronically late, and I'm so clumsy that I'm not allowed to walk down stairs without shoes on.

I do admit tho, I have a small circle of wonderful friends whom I grateful for...but if I see them maybe once or twice a month, I consider it miraculous.

So really, what happened to me today didn't really shock me.

It started out as a typical day - I woke up to find that as per the usual, my alarm hadn't gone off so I was late for class.

I barely had time to shove my hair into some of the messiest buns you've ever seen as I ran out the door, and kept my fingers crossed that I hadn't missed the bus.

Of course I had though, so I got to enjoy a 2 mile trudge up a very steep hill to the high school.

As I reached the top, the melodious chimes signaling the start of class rang out across the sky - typical...completely typical.

Nancy, the school's front office receptionist, didn't even look up as she handed me my usual late slip; it was so routine, even she didn't have to think about it anymore.

No one looked up as I walked through the door of my trig class, not even the teacher as I passed him my tardy pass; I made my way to my desk and sat down quietly, pulling out my work book to attempt to catch up.

By the time the bell rang, I had just barely finished the assignment as I scrambled to put my things back in my bag and rush to my next class...that's when I heard the screaming.

Loud, thunderous cracks filled the air as people poured back into the classroom and knocked me off my feet.

I could see the panic in their eyes, the fear; tears streamed down the faces of many - what on earth was going on?

I soon found out as boy armed with a semi-automatic, kicked the door in and held the barrel level to my head; I recognized him instantly - Daniel Muir.

He had been my crush from grades 4 to 7; he was so shy, poetic, gentle - it was what I had liked about him, but as I previously stated, I didn't get the guy, and instead, Dan had been snatched up by a pretty brunette by the name of Kelsey.

The warm face that had sucked me in lo those many years ago was now so twisted, that even though I recognized him, I didn't; had Daniel's light brown eyes always been so cold and empty?

I felt the steel of the gun against my forehead, and heard the thunderous roar...I was dead; in an instant, my life had ended, and I would like to take this moment to tell you that that "life flashing before you" crap is total bullshit - it doesn't happen.

I felt myself floating weightless, and opened my eyes to take in a sea of clouds; cool, white and fluffy, but as soon as this serenity engulfed me, I felt myself begin to descend and as I fell, a million thoughts ran through my head.

Was this really it?

I'm going to die without ever having made something of myself?

Without ever living out my dreams, or accomplishing my goals?

...I'm going to die without ever having my first kiss?

_"It isn't fair..."_ I thought miserably, tears leaving my eyes and flying up as I fell presumably to the pits of hell, _"I don't want it to end like this..."  
_  
That when I noticed something white and glittering in the distance closing on me and fast; what was it?

I couldn't tell but I felt something cold close around my body, something unrelenting and hard - metal?

I managed to pry my eyes open a moment and saw...a giant robot?

A giant freaking robot had me in its grasp and was quickly descending downwards - and in my less than stable condition I found myself questioning if the servants of the Underworld always been giant flying robots?

_"Okay, that tears it. Either I really am dead, or I've suffered some serious brain damage,"_ I thought, suddenly feeling incredibly light headed and dizzy; something warm started streaming down from my nostrils as my eyes rolled back in my head and I passed out.

* * *

_"Heavy...why do I feel so heavy?"_ I thought muzzily through the pleasant, warm darkness clouding my eyes, _"Is this death? If it is, its so comfortable..."_

I could definitely become used to the idea of being dead if it was going to be like this - it was so deliciously comfortable; like lying in the softest of beds with the warmest of blankets wrapped around you.

In light of this newly acquired presumption, I snuggled back, fully prepared to embrace my death...when I felt something gently shake me by the shoulders.

I grunted, and tried to smack whatever it was away, but it was too much effort, so I tried to ignore whatever it was.

"Hey, rise and shine sleeping beauty!" a good natured, smiling...male voice said, its owner giving me another light jostle, "I know you're awake. Cmon - open up those peepers."

With a groan and all the effort I could muster I forced my eyelids open to be greeted by a dimly lit room, overhead light off and the only light filtering in from a window.

The room was filled with an assortment of vaguely familiar machines and the mildly sterile scent of bleach clung to the air - not exactly the most pleasant smell in the world.

As my eyes finally adjusted to the gloom, I took in the owner of the voice of the person who had rousted me from my comfortable darkness,...a boy; a very, _very_attractive boy grinning at me, light brown hair licking at his cheeks and dancing over his eyes.

He looked so familiar, but I couldn't place it, and for now, I was going to attest that to the massive brain injury that gun had inflicted upon my person.

It wasn't really important anyway, so I decided to let it go and asked a far more pressing question that was weighing on my mind.

"Is this heaven or hell?" I asked through numb lips; it took more effort to move right now than I anticipated, and just the simple act of speaking drained me, "I don't know which I would qualify for. I'm not a particularly interesting person you see."

The boy tossed his head back and laughed jovially, which thoroughly confused me, "What are you talking about? You're in the hospital and you're very much alive. You should color yourself pretty lucky."

I balked at him, energy surging back through my body from whatever secret place it was stored, "That's impossible - I'm dead. Daniel shot me point blank through the head."

"What're you talking about? Whose Daniel?" the boy asked, looking slightly confused as he rose from his seat and approached my bedside, "Whaddya mean shot in the head?"

I could feel the blood draining from my face as my hands flew up to my head feeling for the entry and exit wounds on my skull from the fatal shot...nothing; smooth skin and tangled hair were all that my frantically searching fingers found.

"This is...I came to school, was leaving my trigonometry class, and he...he barged into my classroom and shot me." I said as my mouth and throat went dry, feeling an icy cold panic beginning to pool up in the pit of my stomach, feeling my body beginning to quake, "How...? This is impossible...I'm dead..."

"I think you may have hit your head or something in the blast." He said slowly, appearing to be choosing his words carefully, "I'm honestly shocked you survived the explosion at all."

"Explosion?" I cried, sitting bolt upright, completely awake now and wrapping my arms around myself tightly in an effort to will away the creeping cold that was filling me, "What explosion? What the hell is going on? What are you talking about?"

"Calm down, lady!" The boy said, holding his hands up defensively, "I'm just telling it like it is - one of our pilots saw your body flying through the air after an MS battle was pushed into a civilian area. We assumed you were on the shuttle that got shot out of the sky and somehow managed to survived."

"MS battle?" I shrieked, growing more and more hysterical and scared, "What the hell is an MS battle? Where the hell amd I and who the hell are you?"

"An MS battle? Yknow...mobile suits?" The boy replied with an oddly suspicious look on his face and he nodded behind me to the window; against my better judgement and ignoring the dread that filled me, I looked...and realized why this boy looked so familiar...I knew this boy...I knew this boy very well, to the point of it border lining on obsessive.

I had watched this boy every single day when I was 14 years old in complete and utter awe of him; totally enamored with him...I had seen him on TV, on posters, t shirts...in manga.

Glaring at me from beyond the window, in all of its frighteningly destructive, murderous glory...was the Gundam Deathscythe Hell.

To the right of me, looking as confused as a person could be... was Duo Maxwell...the self proclaimed God of Death - how I hadn't noticed the telltale braid and deep violet blue eyes before now was beyond me.

My entire body suddenly felt as tho it were filled with lead and I felt myself sink back and the tunnel vision set in; the darkness engulfed my sight again and reclaimed me as I fainted again and the world around me disappeared.


	2. Zombie

[A/N: As per request, here's chapter two. I can't be certain how often I'll update, but if people genuinely enjoy this little fic, I'll do my best to accommodate the demand.]

* * *

Duo scratched his head and stared at the unconscious girl in the hospital bed before him; he had heard that getting hit on the head could make a person delusional, but this was a little much.

With a shrug of his shoulders, he pulled the blankets up under her pale chin, noting the light sprinkling of freckles across her palid cheeks and nose.

He stiffled a snicker as he took in her hair - a rat's nest of overgrown ginger curls; it looked as though she had gotten into an intense battle with an electrical outlet and lost.

Shaking his head, Duo strode out of the tiny room and shut the door quietly behind him.

_"Let her sleep for now."_ he mused, sauntering off in the direction of the exit, _"Hopefully Quatre can manage to dig up some info on her with the prints I lifted. For now though? Food."_

Duo thought upon the box of mac and cheese sitting in the pantry of the safe house he shared with the other Gundam pilots and drooled a little as he climbed behind the wheel of the truck he had 'borrowed' earlier that week.

_"Man this is going to taste soooo good - I haven't eaten all day!"_ he thought happily as he pulled out into the street and drove in the direction of his temporary home, allowing his mind to drift to dancing images of food and away from the day's strange happenings.

It was pretty hard for him to believe, even though he had been right there when Quatre had caught the girl mid air; he couldn't quite figure out, even with all his training, how she had been tossed so far away from the exploding shuttle, or for that matter, how unhurt she appeared.

By the time he got to the safe house up in the hills, the girl had virtually been completely driven from his mind, and Duo leapt from the vehicle and made a mad dash for the kitchen.

"Ah, Duo. Welcome back." Quatre said absentmindedly, eyes glued to the computer screen in front of him, his face screwed up into an intense frown, "About that girl-"

"Can it wait, man? I'm sooo hungry." Duo begged, already pulling out the pot and wooden spoon to make his meal, "This is going to be the first thing I've had today."

"I can talk while you cook, yknow." Quatre replied, making no move to tear his eyes from the screen, "Duo...Duo, are you sure these are that girl's fingerprints?"

"Whaddya mean? Of course I'm sure! I lifted them myself." Duo said indignantly as he filled his cookware with water, "Why? Are they too smudged to work with or something? I was as careful as I could be yknow."

"Its not that, Duo...it's just..." Quatre trailed off, moving to look at his fellow pilot with deeply troubled expression.

"What is it, man?" Duo asked, placing the water on the burner and walking over to the blonde Arab.

"If that's true, then...well...Duo, according to the database, that girl died almost two hundred years ago." Quatre said, in a tone that said he wasn't quite sure he believed what he was daying.

Duo felt his jaw drop, and knew his eyes had to be the size of dinner plates, "What did you say...?"

Quatre moved over to allow Duo room to peer at the monitor; there she was, her freckled face framed by a torrid mass of unruly carrot colored curls smiling awkwardly at him from the screen in what appeared to be a bad high school yearbook photo:

**NAME:** _Sidra Annemarie Baker_  
**BORN:** _October, 14th 1987 A.D._  
**DIED:** _November, 21st 3 A.C.*_  
**C.O.D.:** _Gunshot wound to the head; point blank range._  
**ADDITIONAL NOTES:** _Baker was the final fatality of the Cloverbrook High School Shooting, perpetrated by one Daniel Jeremiah Muir (age 17)_  
_When questioned, the suspect expressed remorse and was noted as saying he never meant to shoot her._  
_Baker is buried at Lakeview Cemetary in the Baker family plot._

Duo suddenly found he wasn't hungry anymore as he stared at the screen before him; he glanced at Quatre, hesitant about what he was about to say next.

"She...when she came to, she asked if this was heaven or hell...and when I told her it was a hospital...the first thing she said was, 'That's impossible. I'm dead. Daniel shot me.'" Duo said slowly, watching as Quatre's blue eyes went wide with shock, "Quatre...do you think we're dealing with some sick OZ plot here?"

"It doesn't seem very probable, but I don't know what to think honestly." Quatre said tiredly, bringing his finger tips to his temples, "Technology hasn't advanced to the point where the dead can be ressurected."

"What about a clone, then?" Duo asked, minimizing the window - he didn't want to see it anymore, "Is it possible they got ahold of her DNA somehow and made a clone of her? Yknow...and baited us to collect her so she could gather information?"

"Again, highly unlikely, Duo." Quatre sighed, leaning forward and resting his chin on his arms, "I'm not sure what to make of it, but according to this, she is clearly deceased. Besides, if OZ was plotting anything this unseemly, Heero would have unearthed it ages ago."

"So what, then - she's a zombie?" Duo asked sarcastically, pushing himself to his feet to address the now boiling water on the stove top.

Quatre rolled his eyes at his fellow pilot, "Well, I'm not sure - did she try to bite your head at all, Duo?"

"Ha! Nahhh, I guess I'm not her flavor." Duo laughed, stirring the macaroni noodles into the bubbling water, "She did however yell alot and faint - does that count?"

Quatre smiled and replied joking, "No, I don't suppose it does." He leaned back and stretched noisily in his seat, "Huuu...what are we going to tell the others? Wufei and Heero will not be happy with the lack of information on this."

"Yeah, can't imagine Trowa leaping for joy about this either." Duo sighed, stirring the pot before him, "This is going to be interesting to try and explain, that's for sure."

* * *

I awoke again, greeted by the darkened ceiling and the moonlight twinkling through the window; the room was empty now, and there was no sign of Duo...or the man who looked like Duo.

I was trying to convince myself that there was no possible way it could've been him, but a quick glance behind me through the window at the ever menacing presence that was Deathscythe Hell cemented the fact in my deeply frazzled mind that it was pretty difficult to ignore the truth that I had actually had held a conversation - albeit, a very disjointed, awkward conversation - with the object of my misplaced 14 year old lust.

But that would mean that I had somehow had been transported to whatever universe he happened to exist in...that, or I was suffering from a traumatic brain injury; in lieu of the circumstances, that second options was the most likely possibility.

I allowed my mind to wander back to the first tho; what it meant if I was actually here in the world of one of my all time favorite anime's.

I know plenty of fangirls who would probably be dancing for joy at the prospect of being surrounded by some of the hottest guy to ever be conceptualized and brought to life in all of their 2D glory, but time had matured me enough to realize what it actually meant if I was, in fact, alive and in the Gundam universe.

It would mean being caught up in a war torn world where mobile suits were almost constantly engaged in battle, which of course also mean endless opportunities to be trampled, shot, blown up, and maimed.

It meant the possibility of being held indefinitely and being tortured and interrogated for information I didn't have...okay, that wasn't exactly true - I had followed the Gundam Wing series to the letter, and I knew pretty much everything about both sides...meaning I was a liability, and would more likely than not be disposed of...probably by the always trigger happy Heero Yuy.

If they allowed me the luxury of living, it would mean a complete loss of privacy; it wouldn't matter if I believed myself to be alone or not - I wouldn't be as they were certain to bug me, wherever I happen to wind up living, and keep constant tabs on me.

Even more than that, it meant facing the reality I would probably never see any of my family or friends again; no more singathons with mom, no more camping trips with dad, no more adventuring with Luca and Bree, no more sleepovers with Karli and Mina.

Tears begain to fall down my cheeks and I moved quickly to swipe them away, before realizing this would probably be one of the last times those mentally unbalanced Gundam pilots would leave me to my own devices and so, I began to sob openly.

As I cried, I couldn't help but wonder about yet another possibility - what if I actually was dead?

What if I really had died, and this was some kind of purgatory or limbo while the rulers of the universe decided what to do with me?

_"Oh please, come off it, Sid."_ I thought to myself dismally, hiccuping hard as I struggled to breathe normally,_ "Like you're really such a priority that the powers that be are struggling to decide what to do with you."_

I looked around for a tissue to blow my nose with and found a box beside my bedside table and blew hard to clear my nostrils, and when I pulled the kleenex away, I saw it was coated with blood.

I raised a hand to my nose and felt a light crust around my nostrils and pulled my fingers back to see that they were covered in fresh blood as well - a nosebleed...great.

I vaguely recalled my memories from before blacking out, of that warm sticky wetness that had trickled from my nose before I passed out; I could only surmise that it had initially started then and I had knocked the clot loose.

Grouchilly, I ripped more tissues from the box, so violently that the box itself came unseated and flew out of reach on the floor; I ignored it and shoved the kleenex up my nose to stop the bleeding.

Duo's voice echoed inside my mind, _"You should color yourself lucky!"_

_"Lucky huh...lucky my butt."_ I thought grumpily and I turned over on my side and closed my eyes in an attempt to go to sleep.

It was a lame attempt tho, and not long after I gave up and flopped on my back again; I considered trying the door and wandering around a little since lord only knows when I would be allowed to roam freely again.

I knew it was a stupid idea; for one, they wouldn't be so foolish as to leave the door unlocked, but despite this, I found myself lowering the side of my gurney and gingerly prodding the cold tile floor with my toes.

Being as quiet as I could, I padded over to the door on my barefeet and tested the handle and to my astonishment, the knob turned easily and the door swung open silently into the hall.

I gazed uncertainly into the warmly lit hallway, eyeing the frame of the door like it was a laser grid in a spy movie - one touch and its game over; despite my better judgement however, I took a hesitant step into the hallway...and then another...and another.

Before I knew quite I was doing, I was wandering curiously through the halls, taking in everything and anything; I saw a sign above a door, a familiar one that glowed a soft green that read EXIT...and without another thought, I pushed it open and walked out into the night.

I quickly regretted the action however when a gust of wind brought me back to the reality that was I had just walked around the medical facility in nothing more than an open backed hospital gown.

I felt an intense surge of hear rush into my face as I rushed back for the door and found to my dismay that it was locked from the outside; I was trapped outdoors, essentially naked, in what appeared to be an open air garden, at night, with no blanket or any other heat sourse.

_"Sidra...you're a genius."_ I thought bitterly, sinking down onto the cool grass, wrapping my arms around my knees and burying my face in them, _"Absolutely brilliant...how could this get ANY worse?"_

Later, I would severely regret that statement.

* * *

1. The A.C. calender started after 1999 A.D., meaning Sidra died in 2003 at the age of 16


	3. Talk

[A/N: Here we are people - chapter 3; enjoy.]

* * *

"Explain to me again why I'm being forced along on this ridiculous farce you call a mission?" Chang Wufei spat from the back seat of the stolen truck, looking as bitter as he felt; it was well established that he had an intense distaste for the fairer sex, so being dragged along on the drive to the hospital at 6am to pick up a supposed 'female shuttle explosion survivor' for questioning, was seriously trying his patience.

"Well..." Duo said thoughtfully, glancing at the aggravated 17 year old in the overhead mirror, "Let's just say there are special circumstances, and your expertise is needed."

"Expertise in what area?" Wufei snapped irritably, slowly but steadilly growing more incensed; he was over the American's song and dance - he wanted the truth and he wanted it now.

"We'll explain when we arrive, Wufei." Quatre replied placatingly, turning around to face him as he spoke, "It'll be easier once we've collected her."

Wufei turned away from the blue eyes and harrumphed loudly to vocalize his disdain.

"Easy man." Duo said cheerfully as the hospital appeared over the cap of the hill, "We're almost there. Besides, I think you'll find this particular situation interesting."

"There is nothing interesting about women." Wufei barked, tearing his gaze from the window to glare at the back of the braided boy's head, "Irritating, weak and useless are all women are."

"Heh, I'll be sure to pass that along to Sally." Duo chuckled, noting with delight that his passenger had paled noticeably and his dark eyes had widened considerably.

He glanced at Quatre, who was covering his mouth with both hands and trying to contain his laughter, _"Ahhhhh, life is good."_ Duo thought, laughing to himself as they pulled into the parking lot of the medical facility and quickly found a parking space.

A glint of color caught his eye as he climbed out of the vehicle; a flash of bright orange from around the corner of the building.

Unable to abate his natural curiosity, Duo made his way towards the source.

"Uh, Duo? The entrance is over here!" Quatre called out, confused as to why the boy was heading towards the rear of the building.

The boy stopped dead in his tracks and reached up and scratched the back of his head sheepishly, turning to look at him and Wufei, "I know, but we don't really need to use it now."

"What do you mean?" Quatre asked, jogging over to him as Duo pointed to something just beyond his line of sight; a tangled mane of carrot colored curls glinted in the early morning sunlight - there was Sidra, asleep just outside an employee entrance, her face buried into her knee caps.

"...do you think she was trying to escape?" Duo mused as he, Quatre and Wufei walked over to the sleeping girl, and crouched down to peer at her.

"Far from it. Look at her hands, and look at the door." Wufei murmured, gesturing at her, prompting the boys to glance at them; they were covered in fresh bruises and smeared with a small amount of blood from fresh cuts, and the door itself was coated in a thin layer of it as well, "The fool went and locked herself out; how stupid."

Quatre gently eased her back and slung an arm beneath her knobbly knees and lifted her up with ease, her head bumping lightly into his chest, "Poor thing, probably woke up disoriented. She's so cold."

"Well, lets load her in the truck." Duo shrugged, motioning back to the parking lot, "The sooner we get to the new safe house, the sooner we can get this over with."

Quatre shot him a reproachful look, but appeared to have second thoughts about it, looked at Duo apologetically and moved his gaze down to the girl sleeping peacefully in his arms, _"I really hope there's a logical explanation for all this; I really don't want to have to hurt you."_

* * *

I felt myself being carried by a pair of sturdy arms and engulfed by a very pleasant scent; _"I must have passed out at the dinner table doing homework again."_ I thought blearilly, not bothering to open my eyes and leave the comfortable warm darkness, _"Daddy, you need to stop carrying me to bed. I'm not 4 years old anymore and the last thing either of us need is for your back to give out and for both of us to take a tumble into the shoe rack."_

I felt him set me down gently in...a chair?

_"Wait a second...why is Daddy putting me in a chair and not in my bed?"_ I wondered through my sleepy haze, _"And why do my hands hurt so much?"_

In a flash, the events of the previous day rushed through my mind, and my eyes snapped open; I wasn't at home, the person who carried me couldn't have been my Daddy because, after all, I was dead and in limbo...or hell...or alive and suffering from a catastrophic brain injury - I hadn't decided yet.

I found myself staring into a pair of bright blue eyes, shadowed by the strands of white blonde hair that fell over them; yet another person I recognized - Quatre Rebarba Winner, pilot of the Gundam Sandrock, and yet another person I should have no way of making any kind of contact with.

"You're awake." he said, smiling in an almost sympathetic manner, "I really am sorry, but for safety's sake, we've restrained you for the time being; do bear with us."

"Uh...yeah...okay." I replied numbly, now realizing I couldn't move my arms or legs since they had been belted down to the chair I'd been placed on.

"I'm going to be asking you some questions, and I want you to answer them as truthfully as you can, alright?" he asked; I squirmed uncomfortably under his gaze - those blue eyes seemed to pierce into me and scouring the depth of my soul.

"Could you move it along, Winner?" another voice said, reflecting its owner's deep aggravation, "I still don't know why I'm here, and the sooner you two enlighten me, the better."

I balked; Chang Wufei? Oh fantastic, now I knew I was in trouble if the pilot of Gundam Shenlong was here.

"Okay." I squeaked, beginning to shake under my restraints; I was feeling more and more inclined that this was indeed limbo and I was being tried for whatever crimes I commited in life.

"Now then, state your full name please?" Quatre asked gently.

"S-Sidra Annemarie Baker." I answered, swallowing hard as his eyebrow raised slightly and he leaned forwards to scan my face.

"Date of birth?" he asked, still staring at me hard; behind him, Duo and Wufei were also watching me carefully.

"October fourteenth, nineteen eighty seven." I said, feeling the room grow colder as Wufei turned his gaze on me and narrowed his dark eyes into the glare he had made famous; I grew all the more unnerved as pilot 02 moved forwards and placed a hand on Quatre's shoulder.

_"He's switching off with him, oh great - I'm going to be interrogated by the God of Death himself - goody..."_ I thought as a sense of impending doom settled in the pit of my stomach.

"Please state the events of November 21st." Duo asked evenly, "And don't you think about lying - blondie over here will know if you do."

"W-well, I woke up late since my alarm clock shut itself off." I said nervously, "And I missed the bus, so I wound up walking to school and was late for my math class. I finished my assignment right as the bell rang and was about to leave for second period, when...when everyone started screaming."

I paused, squeezing my eyes shut, trying to block out the horrible images that swam through my mind, trying to force away the vision of Daniel's soulless eyes boring into me and the feeling of lethal steel against my forehead.

"You're trying my very limited patience, woman." Wufei snarled, making my eyes snap open; his voice bringing me back to the current reality I was in.

"Sorry..." I whispered, lowering my head so that my troublesome hair would shield my face; for once I didn't loathe it as it hid the tears now streming down my face from their view, "I heard screams, lots of screams...everyone came back into the class, pushing, shoving, knocked me down...they were all so scared. Daniel...he had a gun...and he shot me in the head and killed me. When I came to, I was floating in the clouds and started falling, and thats where I guess you guys come in."

"..do you really think we're that **stupid**, woman?" Wufei growled, storming over and grabbing me by the collar, lifting both me and the chair I was pinned to into the air, "You expect us to believe we're speaking to a two hundred year old cadaver?"

"Put her down, Wufei." Quatre said quickly, grabbing hold of Wufei's shoulder, "I sensed no deception - she's telling the truth."

"Truth?" Wufei snorted, shoving the boy away, "Either she's a brain washed OZ agent or she's a complete lunatic. In either case, she's s liability and expendable."

I felt any sense of caring drain away from me; he had made a very solid point - in this world, I had been dead almost two hundred years, so what did I care if he killed me? I was dead already - what more could he honestly do to me?

"It doesn't matter...if you're going to do it, do it." I said hoarsely, no longer feeling the tears I knew had to still be streaming down my face, "It doesn't matter. I'm already dead, anyway. What will it matter if he kills me again?"

"Glad we're on the same page." he smirked, raising his free hand up to my throat; I felt his rough fingers graze my neck and I shut my eyes again and prayed it would be over quickly.

"Wufei, drop her." Duo's voice cut through the air like a knife, as I heard the all to familar sound of a gun being cocked; I opened my eyes to see pilot 02 with an automatic pistol trained on Wufei, "If Quatre says she's telling the truth, I believe it. I'm not sure what's going on, or what the hell she's doing here, but I don't think she was put here for you to kill her."

I watched Wufei's face twist in frustration as he threw me aside like a paper ball; I hit the ground hard and couldn't help but yelp in pain as I hit the ground.

"This is _**INSANITY!**_" he roared, advancing on Duo and slamming him into a wall, "What rational explanation do you have for her being here then?"

I gaped at the two of them as I felt myself being lifted upright; I glanced up to see Quatre working on my bonds, looking at me apologetically, "Sorry for the rough treatment, but, well...its a highly unusual situation."

"Don't you **dare** apologize!" Wufei growled at him, not looking like he was going to be releasing Duo any time soon, "What's your theory then, Winner? I'd love to hear it."

"Well...honestly, I can't be sure." he replied evenly as he finished freeing me and helped me to my feet, "I just know that she didn't lie, or present any signs of being deceptive."

"She could've been trained to overcome them, fool." Wufei spat back.

"The only thing I've been able to come up with is maybe she wasn't supposed to die that day." Duo said in a strained voice, breaking his silence and drawing the Shenlong pilot's attention.

"What was that?" Wufei asked, his eyes now fixed on pilot 02, "She wasn't supposed to die? That's the only thing you could come up with?"

"Well, it's either that or she jumped dimensions, or she's a zombie and we're dealing with a Night Of The Living Dead scenario." Duo replied dryly, "But you asked for a rational explanation and that's the best one I can come up with."

Wufei appeared to wage an internal war with himself as he released his grip on Duo's shirt front, "...if she turns out to be an OZ agent...its on your head." he hissed, training his ferocious gaze on pilots 02 and 04.

"We know, we know." Duo replied, rolling his eyes and turning his attention back to me, "Sorry about all that, lady."

"Sidra." I replied, in a bit of a daze

Finding myself leaning against Quatre for support, I felt utterly exasperated with myself., "_Ugh, what am I doing? He's not supposed to be able to touch me! None of them are! They're anime characters- they aren't real!"_ I thought, pushing away from Quatre and standing unsteadily on my own, _"I can't allow myself to be drawn into this world or its cast of characters, not if I want to get out of here."_

Before I knew it, I found the words tumbling from my lips, "Yknow...where I come from, none of you are real." I said dully, not noticing the looks of surpise that suddenly masked the boys faces, "You're all works of fiction, cute works of fiction, but still works of fiction...this is really supporting the I-am-dead theory as far as I'm concerned."

"...would you care to elaborate on that?" Quatre asked after a moment of intense silence as three sets of eyes bore into me.

Me and my big, fat mouth...


	4. Memories

[A/N: Chapter 4 - enjoy ladies and gents.]

* * *

Duo stared out at the sea of stars before him in a daze; three jabs of truth serum and Sidra was still sticking to the story that as far as she knew, they weren't real and were in fact anime characters.

_"I'm starting to think Wufei's right and she's completely out of her mind."_ he thought to himself as they flew to the remote location of an "abandoned space station" that 5 mad doctors had converted into a covert command center, _"That would explain why she can stick her story without so much as a flicker of doubt...but not how Quatre wound up catching her at fifty thousand feet, completely out of the shuttle's projected explosion radius...talk about one weird situation."_

Duo tried to shut out the sounds of the girl's violent retching and couldn't help but feel a small pang of guilt; that much truth serum was bound to make anyone sick, and it was left to Quatre to hold her massive mane of tightly wound curls out of the way as she vomited since he was piloting and Wufei was co-piloting [and wouldn't have anything to do with her anyway, even though he was the one who kept injecting her with it in the first place]

After another fifteen minutes the sounds ceased and Quatre emerged from the rear of the vessel, looking very drained and quite concerned.

"She's gone back to sleep." he murmured, leaning against the back of Duo's seat, "I'm going to monitor her for the rest of the flight to make sure we didn't wind up poisoning her.

"Che...if she dies, its because she's weak." Wufei said coolly, eyes trained on the empty vastness of space before him, "I should've known that's what you meant by 'needing my expertise'."

"What can I say, buddy - out of all of us, you have the best interrogation techniques." Duo replied with a slight smile, "Heero's more 'shoot now, ask questions later', Quatre, no offense, but you're too soft a touch, Trowa...well...he'd just stare at her until he psyched her out or got bored, whichever comes first, and I'm too much of a gentleman."

"Psh, more like you're too much of a bleeding heart." Wufei snorted, checking their ETA in the shuttle's navigation system, "If you two expect to be able to complete the mission laid out by the doctors, you really ought to consider growing some semblance of a spine."

Duo and Quatre exchanged a look and smiled at each other sheepishly, shaking their heads; to some extent they knew their fellow Gundam pilot was right, but knew that Wufei was being slightly hypocritical as he had stated on multiple occasions that he refused to murder women and the weak, and even though he had threatened to break Sidra's neck earlier, they both knew he would never follow through with the action...they were also smart enough to not call him on it and start a fist fight in the middle of space.

Duo returned his attention to making sure they didn't collide nose first into an asteroid belt, and Quatre left the flight deck to check up on the girl in the cabin; she was sprawled out on the floor on her stomach, her immense amounts of hair puddled around her and hid her face.

Quatre moved some of the tangled, tightly wound curls away to reveal her pale clammy face, eyes shut in sleep; he took hold of her wrist and checked her heart rate which was understandably low, then went on to take her temperature, which was understandably high.

He shook his head, struggling to understand why she had so readily agreed to the injections at all, _"She's either insane as Wufei suggested, oblivious to the risks involved with truth serum, or desperate to prove she's not a liar and enemy agent..."_ he mused, getting up to grab a blanket from the overhead compartment and carefully tucking her in, _"Whatever turns out to be the case, this whole situation is beyond bizarre. I just hope the doctors will have some way or proving beyond a shadow of a doubt whether or not she's friend, foe, or innocent bystander."_

* * *

"Welcome boys, so good to see you again." Professor G smiled, moving forwards to receive a hug from his trainee, whom bear hugged him to the point he could barely fill his lungs, "I'll take this to mean you mean missed me."

"Who, me? Never." Duo grinned, releasing his hold on the older gentleman who looked him over appraisingly.

"So what's this I hear about needing a higher level of interrogation?" Master O remarked, raising an eyebrow to the sleeping girl on the Sandrock pilot's back, "Please tell me that that waif isn't the reason that brought you here." he said, turning his attention to his charge who glared angrily at the ground.

"Three injections worth of truth serum and she still keeps insisting on something as ludicrous as all of us being fictional." Wufei growled, "I don't know what kind of mind conditioning she's been through if she's not completely mad."

"Hold on there, lad." Instructor H said calmly, turning his eyes on his young ward and stroking his needle like mustache thoughtfully, "Quatre, would you mind explaining the situation to us...after you've set down the lady of course."

Quatre smiled sheepishly, "Well...its as Wufei says." he said, shifting Sidra on his back, "She's either a perverse OZ experiment, totally out of her mind, or...in any case, the short version is, according to her fingerprint and DNA signature, she's been dead for two hundred years."

"You don't say..." Doctor J chuckled darkly, moving forward and examining the girl through mirrored lenses, "Funny thing that...she seems quite lively for a corpse, doesn't she?" reaching forward, he moved some of her tangled curls away from her face, "You say she was subject to truth serum and never once changed her story?"

"That's right." Duo replied, shrugging his shoulders, "What's even crazier is we didn't even have to force it on her. She agreed to the injections; said she had nothing to hide, and to go right ahead."

"I see, so that's why." Professor G murmured, cupping the sleeping girl's chin in his hand, "The preparations have been made, and Doctor S is overseeing the final check on the cerebrum probe. If she truly has been brainwashed and is a sleeper agent for OZ, the cerebrum probe will unearth any plans and orders given. There will nothing she will be able to hide."

* * *

Quatre peered through the radiation proofed layers of glass, watching the technicians attach the electrodes to the strange girl's forehead and covering the rest of her in heavy lead shields.

"Don't worry, dear boy; she wont feel any kind of pain." Instructor H said calmly, patting the blonde on the back comfortingly and offering his ward a reassuring smile.

"Its not that..." He murmured, troubled expression on his face, "Despite what we may uncover, the fact remains, we will still see all of her most private memories...it doesn't seem right."

"This not the time, Winner." Wufei sighed exasperatedly, folding his arms and scowling at his fellow pilot, "This is the only definite way to make sure she isn't an enemy. Let's quit wasting time and get this over with."

_"He's not fooling anyone."_ Duo thought to himself, eyeing the two sympathetically, _"Wufei, you and Quatre are more or less on the same page; I know...not a single one of us is going to enjoy this, except for the Doctors."_

"We're ready to begin." Doctor S announced, flipping a switch, "Cerebrum probe, on. Pay attention to the screen on your right boys - the girl's memories will be displayed there. Please note, they will appear as she saw them - through her own two eyes, as they were captured. No chance of them being beautified, or altered."

As the group stared at the screen, something slowly came into focus; a pair of light brown eyes were the very first thing to appear on the screen, followed by a delicate face graced by a smile of the utmost pleasure.

"Hehehe Sidra...did you have a good sleep, Little Star?" the woman asked, with a laugh in her voice as she reached forwards and apparently lifted Sidra from where she lay.

"...that must be her mother...she's beautiful." Quatre said softly, a faint smile on his lips as he took in in the smiling face of the woman as Sidra's infantile mind remembered her; the soft red curls and light sprinkling of freckles similar to hers.

"Too bad she doesn't take after her." Wufei snorted, a tiny smirk on his face, "What's the betting she takes after her father in the looks department?"

Master O shot him a look that quickly silenced him; Wufei knew better than to be so disrespectful in his presence, "Let's move forwards a few years, shall we? This is a bit too early on in life to bear any relevancy to our investigation."

Doctor J nodded, and turned the dial, skimming forwards about 4 years.

The sky came rushing towards them, then fell away and the sight of the landscape before them too its place; a park - she was on a swing and apparently, enjoying herself immensely if the sound of Sidra's little girl giggling was any indicator.

"Something's odd...has anyone else noticed the lack of mobile suits?" Duo asked, eyes narrowed at the screen, "Because unless I'm completely blind, I haven't spotted a single one so far, and mobile suit production started forever ago - well before the colonies ever existed."

"I noticed it too...what on earth is going on?" Quatre asked aloud, eyes becoming saucers as he took in the world as Sidra remembered it; peaceful and seemingly devoid of war, "Its like a completely separate world."

* * *

After about an hour and a half of watching the teens memories, a few things had been established:

[1] She had a rather bad habit of dancing around her room in her underwear in front of a mirror, singing into a hairbrush like it was a microphone; not that she was a bad singer - far from it, even as young as she was in these memories, her voice was rather remarkable - it was just that watching a preteen dancing around in her undies made them all a bit uncomfortable for some odd reason.  
[2] Sidra was a klutz - a huge klutz; it was obvious that should she ever become a homeowner, it should be a one story building - stairs and this girl did not mix, and all of them found it rather incredulous how many times she seemingly tripped over nothing.  
[3] She enjoyed cartoons a LOT

The doctors had begun to fast forward through the memories now, stopping only when they spotted something they deemed prevalent and then continuing on, and it wasn't very often that anything appeared to be relevant to their investigation of the girl.

"**_WAIT!_ Stop!** Go back!" Duo barked, breaking the silence and making all those present jump several feet, "I think...okay, this might sound crazy but I think I just saw myself - go back."

Doctor J obliged and slowly rewound the images until Duo told him to stop; there he was, as plain as day in Sidra's memories, playing basketball with Heero on a television screen in the middle of a rather girlish bedroom - quickly, Doctor S hit play.

"Huuu...He's so cute." Sidra breathed, tilting her head gently, a smile in her voice, focused completely on Duo's devil may care grin.

"Cute for being two dimensional, ya mean."

Focus was torn away from his image and came to rest on a wispy girl with short blonde hair and brown eyes.

"Oh shut up, Karli - its not like I don't know that." Sidra retorted, tossing her head and refocusing on Duo, "Doesn't make him any less cute."

"Sid...he's a cartoon." the girl called Karli said, exasperation leaking into her voice as Sidra's gaze once more returned to her, "Its not like he's ever going to like you back."

"I don't expect you understand." she replied snappishly, looking back at his image on the screen

"Well then explain it to me so I do!" Karli said, reaching forwards; Sidra's gaze redirected at the hand her friend's rested on.

"Well...liking Duo is easy." she began, rising up and turning to look at the television again, "I'm well aware of the fact he isn't real, but because he isn't real, there's no chance of him ever finding out how I feel about him; he won't be able to tease me for liking him at all because he isn't real."

She refocused her gaze on her friend, sitting across the room from her on the bed, "Unlike a certain nameless someone who, thanks to another nameless someone, found out I liked him and the whole school started making fun of me."

"Still not over that, huh?" Karli asked sheepishly; Sidra reached to the side, picked up a backpack and dumped its contents on the bedspread before her friend - note after note making fun of the fact she liked some kid named Danny, scrawled with a number of insults scattered everywhere.

"Not even close." Sidra snapped, frustration filling her voice as she swept all the papers off the bed and flopped down on it, staring at Duo's face on the screen; the vision on the screen blurring as tears filled her eyes, "Its been month's Karli...and it isn't getting any better...I just hope that like how I feel about Duo, that this too will pass."

"Sid..." Karli's saddened voice as Duo's face was enveloped by darkness; Doctor J sped up the footage slightly, and time and time again, images of the pilots and their Gundams in and out of combat appeared, as did images of OZ's top ranked leaders, the Doctors...and Princess Relena Peacecraft of the Sanq Kingdom.

"...she wasn't lying?" Wufei asked aloud, complete and total confusion in his voice, "We're...we don't...we don't exist?"

"Not where she comes from apparently." Duo breathed, feeling rather uneasy at the thought of not being real for one, and that despite that, she had at one point, had quite the sizeable crush on him.

"...Doctor J?" Quatre asked of the elderly man, walking over to him and placing a hand on his shoulder, "Skip ahead to the morning of November twenty first...there's something I need to confirm."

Snapping out of his daze, he nodded and skipped ahead towards the end of Sidra's current memories; scenery moved past rapidly - she was running towards a large building, a school, as warning bells chimed; she dashed through the double doors, and into an office, taking a slip of paper from an auburn haired woman whose eyes were glued to a computer screen.

A sterile white hall filled the screen, broken only by drab, identical doors, one of which she opened and walked through, depositing the slip on the desk of a rather harassed looking man.

She sat and pulled out a text book and a sheet of paper and got to work, solving some simple [by their standards] math problems, until another bell rang out.

Sidra shifted her things back into her bag and quickly moved towards the doors when shrieks and screaming filled her ears, and the room the men currently stood in.

Several students charged back into the classroom, knocking Sidra off her feet, and before she could get her bearings, the barrel of a gun filled her vision; her gaze lifted to stare into a pair of cold brown eyes.

There was a loud, familiar crack of a gun going off, then darkness...which gave way to a skyscape of clouds.

"That's enough." Quatre murmured, eyes squeezed tightly shut, "Turn it off."


	5. Awakening

A/N: Its been a long time since I updated, and I apologize. I've been working 10 hour days, however, here's the long awaited chapter five - enjoy!

* * *

My eyes opened, a hazy film of sleepiness obstructing my vision; I felt so cold.

Teeth chattering, I balled myself up tightly in the thick bedding I was encased in; how I'd gotten here, or where here was didn't matter to me much at the moment as I fought to get warm.

The unwanted memories found their way in of course, and I remembered; I was somehow in the Gundam universe, being held against my will by 3 mentally unstable pilots after being viciously interrogated.

Although, between being held captive by somewhat familiar faces and the alternatives - wandering lost God knows where - hungry and homeless, being killed, or being tortured...I had to admit, things could STILL be worse.

I heard the hydraulic sound of metal doors sliding open and the sound of footsteps approaching and quickly closed my eyes again; my entire body ached, I was freezing, and perhaps if they [whoever_ 'they'_ were] thought I was sleeping, they'd let me alone.

An ice cold palm met my forehead and I yelped and feebly attempted to swat the hand away; so much for feigning sleep.

"Now, now miss, settle down." a gentle female voice said reassuringly, "I'm just checking to see if your fever has broken."

Recognizing the voice, I forced my eyes open and saw the welcomingly familiar face of Sally Po smiling down at me, "But judging by the fact I could probably fry an egg on your forehead, I'm going to have to say no."

"I'm so cold...could you possibly get me another blanket, Miss Po...please?" I begged, ashamed at how thin and pitiful my voice sounded.

Sally's eyes widened at being addressed, before nodding and walking across the room; I heard a door opening and a light rustle before the footfalls approached the bed and their owner fluffed a blanket over me, take their time to tuck me in.

"Are you hungry at all?" Sally asked, peering into my eyes, frowning in concern as I shook my head, "I don't think...it'd stay down right now, Miss Po."

"Sally." she smiled, reaching forwards and brushing a few flyaway curls from my eyes, "If you're not up to eating right now, we'll have to get your nutrients to you intravenously, okay?"

"Like...through an I.V.?" I asked, feeling exhaustion creeping over me as she nodded, "Okay...do...what you have to.."

* * *

Sally furrowed her brow as the girl fell back asleep.

_"She's never been introduced to me...and yet..."_ Sally shook her head, _"I guess the Doctors were telling the truth...its still unsettling...thinking that in some universe, I'm nothing more than a figment of someone's imagination."_

She strode over to the intercom located by the door and sent orders to the nurses on duty to set the girl up on an nutrient rich I.V. drip. before striding out to meet the pilots on the communications deck.

"Heyyy good lookin'." Duo smiled, flashing a grin and shooting a wink her way, "How's the patient? Any improvement?"

"Honestly? Not good." Sally replied ruefully, taking the seat Quatre offered her with an appreciative smile, "Her fever is holding steady and she's still incapable of keeping food down due to the overdose of truth serum. We've had to start her on an I.V. drip."

"Oh dear..." Quatre murmured, a worried expression crossing his face as he took a seat beside the older woman, "Do you think she'll bounce back anytime soon?"

"Well, I'll be giving her the best treatment possible so it's very probable, Mister Winner." Sally smiled, watching both the Arab and the braided troublemaker's faces relax in relief.

"Good." Wufei replied cooly, taking the available seat to Sally's right, "The sooner she's well, the sooner we can be rid of her."

"Wufei..." Duo growled reproachfully, shooting a glare at the Shenlong pilot, "How many times have we been over this? We are **not** ditching her."

"She's a liability!" Wufei snarled, glowering across the meeting table at pilot 02, "You **_saw_** how much she knows! You know as well as I do that she's best disposed of! Why we're coddling her and treating her illness rather than letting it take her is beyond me!"

"_**That's enough!**_" Quatre snapped, startling them both, "Wufei, you ALSO saw she was forth coming and honest - with or without the copious amounts of truth serum you applied. If we swear her to silence, she's no longer a liability."

"Unless OZ finds her." Wufei retorted coldly, folding his arms, "Unless they find her, capture her and torture information out of her."

"She's as dead to them as she was to us a few days ago!" Duo shot back, swiping a stray hair out of his eyes, "Until we happened upon her, she was an unknown stiff in the ground. She's the same to them. They wont be looking for her."

"And what do you propose we do with her once she's well then, Maxwell?" Wufei asking scathingly, "Train her to be the colony's clumsiest MS pilot? To be the first soldier to ever accidentally shoot herself in the face?"

"We'll figure it out when the time comes, Wufei." Sally interjected calmly, bringing the discussion to a close, "That kid may yet to prove herself useful, but for now? Let's focus on the topic of our meeting, shall we? Intercepting that shipment of prototype Libras and destroying it."

* * *

Hot...hot...too hot...

I heaved with all my feeble strength to force the blankets off, absolutely drenched in sweat and feeling thoroughly disgusting.

I couldn't remember the last time I'd taken a shower was, but the funk coming from my pits was enough to let me know it'd been...awhile.

I gingerly swung my legs over the side of my gurney and then finally noticed the tube taped to my arm; my gaze followed it up to a medium sized bag filled with some unidentifiable fluid hanging from a pole on wheels, _"The I.V. drip Sally was talking about, I guess."_

I reached out and grabbed the metal support to keep myself steady, and to prevent the needle in my hand from being ripped out.

I took a wobbly step forwards, using the IV to brace me, and glanced around the room, _"If I were a bathroom...where would I be? ...ha, probably the...room with the obvious sign on it."_

Cheeks burning a bit with embarrassment from the oversight, I carefully shuffled myself inside and shut the door.

After taking care of business, I noticed the shower, _"Oh...oh there is a God."_ I was near tears as I fumbled with my gown and got the ties loose.

I twisted the knobs and held my hand under the stream of water until it was the perfect temperature and I scuttled under it, sighing happily as the layers of filth slid off me.

All I had to wash myself with was handsoap, and of course, I hadn't been smart enough to look for a towel to dry off with after the fact, but what did I care?

I worked the bubbly lather everywhere, scrubbing as hard as I could to get the sweat, dirt, dried puke, and whatever the hell else was on me off; it was far more liberating than it should have been and being clean-ish made me ridiculously happy.

How foolish was I? As soon as it began, it was over; it ended with the door being kicked down and another gun being held level to my head...by none other than Heero Yuy, whose steely expression cracked when he realized what he was seeing.

I felt my feet slide out from under me as I wrapped my hair around myself...and screamed as loud as my sore, sick vocals cords would allow me.

He quickly backpedaled out of the room and ran out as Sally ran in and covered me with a towel and I broke into hysterics for the umpteenth time since my arrival.

* * *

"I'm telling you, sending Heero to see where Sidra wandered off to was not the best of plans." Quatre sighed, massaging the bridge of his nose as he flipped through his briefing materials.

"Well, you must admit, he does have quite the knack for tracking people down." Trowa replied calmly, taking a seat across from the blonde, "There's no one better suited."

Trowa and Heero had arrived fashionably late to the briefing as usual; when Doctor J noticed that the camera monitoring the quote-un-quote hostage's room was unnervingly empty.

Heero, gun locked and loaded, took off to investigate with Sally Po hot on his heels, begging him to let her handle it and to wait.

"I have to wonder about that." Duo muttered, scratching the back of his neck uneasily, "I think...hoo boy, I hate being right."

The unusual sight of a very frazzled pilot 01 met their eyes as he shuffled into the room, a very uncomfortable look on his face.

"Well?" Wufei asked exasperatedly, shifting to his feet, "Where was the brat?"

"..." Heero mumbled under his breath, not meeting his fellow pilot's piercing gaze.

"What was that?" Wufei pressed, peering at Heero's dark blue eyes, as he shifted his weight uncomfortably,"Speak up!"

"She was in the shower." Sally snapped, striding into the room, shooting a reproachful look at Heero, "This is why I told you to let me handle this. Its only natural she would want to wash up after days of nesting in her own filth. You scared the poor thing half to death, and utterly mortified her!"

"Sally, you know he didn't mean to." Quatre said gently, trying to repress a laugh - it was so rare to see the stoic pilot get his feathers ruffled by anything.

"Well this, among many other reasons, is why you should learn to be a little less headstrong and listen to others occasionally." she said coolly, narrowing her eyes, "None of you are to come near her room unless I clear it from here on out - understood? She's been traumatized enough."

"...alright, you have to fill us in." Trowa said, resting his eyes on Duo, "What's the story? Why is she even here?"

"Well...uh..." Duo murmured uncomfortably, shifting his eyes across the table to Professor G, "...little help?"

"With pleasure." The elderly gentleman smile, rising to retrieve a remote from the monitor station, "O, what did you save our charming patient's memory files under?"

* * *

A/N: And there you have it ladies and gents - review to let me know what you think and whether or not you think I should see this to completion! Until later loves!


	6. Requests

A/N: As per request from the lovely Sirius J Potter, I've posted more reactions from Heero, and Duo teasing! Enjoy loves ^-^

* * *

"This...this is insanity." Heero mumbled, his analytical mind struggling to find a rational explanation for the madness he had just witnessed on the wall sized monitor, "Complete madness..."

"That it is, but somehow, this is actually happening." Trowa replied ruefully, massaging his temples, "As odd as it is...the thought of speaking to someone who technically is over two hundred years old, from an alternate timeline no less, you must admit this is rather interesting."

"You're beginning to sound like the Doctors, you know." Duo smirked, leaning back to swing his legs up and on to the table in an effort to make himself more comfortable, "I still have to wonder why she was even sent here - its not like she's some super charged sentient being that was sent here to save the world or something."

"Perhaps she was sent back to be your wife, Maxwell." Wufei taunted, relishing the look that crossed the braided pilot's face as he almost fell backwards in his chair, "You saw how much she clearly adores you. Its quite charming, don't you think?"

"Somehow I get the feeling that Miss Schbeiker would be none to pleased to hear you saying such things, Wufei." Quatre smiled, resting his chin in his hand, "If I remember correctly, she can be rather territorial when it comes to you Duo."

Duo shot a grateful look in Quatre's direction, "Besides, I'm fairly certain that crush of Sidra's is in the past tense, what with her yelling at me...and fainting on me..."

"That could be attributed to the shock of the situation." Heero chimed in, grateful the focus had been taken off of him and his...mishap, "Given enough time, whose to say her feelings wont return full force?"

"I know what this is Yuy, and you are so not getting off easy." Duo shot back cockily, folding his arms across his chest defiantly, "I wonder how a certain princess of the Sanq Kingdom would feel if she knew her beloved soldier has developed a habit of barging in on girls in the shower?"

"It was an accident and its only happened once!" Heero barked, feeling an unfamiliar heat creep into his face, "Perhaps I should inform Schbeiker of what actually happened to her hamster!"

"Enough!" Trowa interrupted, rising to his feet and staring at the two reproachfully, "You're acting like children; now is not the time. Let's put the matter aside for now and focus on the true objective of this meeting - formulating a plan to intercept the shipment of prototype Libras and destroy them."

The pair scowled at one another before redirecting their gazes at the screen as a map of South Africa was displayed, the route of the OZ fleet highlighted in red, "Back to business."

* * *

I couldn't tell you how many days had passed since my untimely arrival, though if I go by Sally's daily check ups on me, I would have to venture a guess of around nine or ten days?

My tiny room had been thankfully void of unsanctioned visitors; the pilots left me to my own devices for the most part - they had much bigger fish to fry than to be troubled by me, and after all, I **_was_** under twenty four hour surveillance.

I had quickly regained strength and was growing a bit more at ease with things - not entirely though; I refused to allow myself to get overly comfortable, because after all, if I was dead, sure I'd have to pass over eventually; if I wasn't, then I couldn't possibly stay here forever...right? I mean...I had to go back sooner or later...right?

Being alone so often let my mind drift off in many directions:  
-Why was I here?  
-How on earth did I get here?  
-How my family was coping?  
-How were my friends?  
-When was the last time I'd walked around freely since I arrived here?  
-Could I find a way back home?  
-Would I return at the exact moment Daniel shot me?  
-Why did Daniel shoot me?  
-Would I ever be allowed to leave this room again?

For some reason though, my mind would always return to one train of thought that many wouldn't even begin to consider; in fact, I'm sure that if Karli knew I how badly I was fretting about returning to school, she'd laugh herself into a coma.

Like any teenager, I hate high school...HAAATE...ITTT...the sleepless nights studying for tests and the PSAT's, the endless weeks of preparing essays and projects that thirty to forty percent of your grades rested on for whatever reason? Y-U-C-K.

However, even with how much I loathe the whole place, the thought of going through life without that stupid piece of paper declaring me legally done with the longest twelve years anyone has ever lived? Not happening; so on one of Sally's routine checkups, I broached the subject with her.

"Um...Sally? I have a bit of an odd request." I said tentatively as she took my pulse, monitoring the dial as the cuff filled with air, compressing my arm.

"A request? My, this is rare." Sally remarked with a smile, surely recalling my pathetic request for a blanket days earlier.

"Um...well...Iwaswonderingifitwouldbeposs ibleformetore-enrollinhighschool?" I asked in a rush, hiding my face behind the tangled red curtain that was my hair, "...please?"

"I don't see why not." Sally replied, giggling quietly as I whipped my head up, a huge smile filling my face, "I'll bring it up at the next meeting. It shouldn't be too much of a bother to get you enrolled with Duo and Heero."

"Oh Sally I could kiss you!" I cried happily, fighting the overwhelming urge to throw my arms around her in a hug, "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"Hahaha! No promises though." Sally laughed, giving my arm a quick squeeze as she rose to her feet, "But I'll see what I can do. Its always nice to see people with a thirst for knowledge."

"I wouldn't say that - its more the fact that I'm stubborn, and this is one thing I HAVE to finish. Oh, one last thing before you go though!" I called, making the doctor pause to look back at me, "Do you think...you could push for public school?"

* * *

"Its completely out of the question." Heero stated coolly, chin resting in his palm as he regarded Sally's inquiry with disdain, "Allowing her to leave the base is one security risk we can not entertain under any circumstance."

"Oh please, like we don't have the entire planet wired for sound." Sally shot back, her voice heavy with exasperation, "It's a pretty minor request if you ask me. Given the time of year it is, she could be enrolled in the fall semester of any public high school and go about her business undetected as a new member of the student body."

"Are you forgetting the fact that if she IS in fact from a parallel timeline two hundred years in the past, the curriculum she studied will be obsolete?" Wufei retorted, raising an eyebrow as he took in the doctor's expression of the large oversight on her part, "Not to mention if its discovered somehow that she's connected to us? Everything we've been striving for will have been for nothing. I fail to see how its worth the risk."

"You forget though, in her timeline, this entire world is fictional...and from what we gathered from her memory files, she has quite the extensive knowledge of this world, and its history." Trowa interjected, surprising everyone gathered; he wasn't usually so talkative, "Not to mention having her off base most of the day would probably be safer for her in the event our operations here are unearthed. The odds of any connection being established between her and us is rather unlikely as well."

"That may be, but you also saw the level of mathematics and science they studied and its no where near the level she would need to know." Duo replied, scratching the back of his head, "She'd need a tutor - whose going to be footing that bill? I'm with Wufei and Heero on this one, man. I don't think its honestly worth risking."

"I think it would be fascinating." Instructor H remarked with a smile, lacing his fingers together, "How often does one get the opportunity to study interdimensional time travelers?"

"You can not tell me you all are actually considering this!" Wufei cried, looking thunderstruck as he turned his gaze towards the other doctors, "Please talk some sense into them! For god's sake - this is madness! It puts our entire mission in jeopardy!"

"It sounds like a rather interesting prospect to me." Doctor J said with a slow grin, opening and closing his mechanical hand methodically, "Besides, you boys know we're men of science - lovers of knowledge and its pursuit; this simply sounds like a marvelous social experiment to me."

"I agree." Master O nodded, choosing to ignore the horrified expression on his ward's face, "When will we ever be presented with such an opportunity again in our lifetimes? The odds are point zero zero zero zero zero one out of ten trillion."

"You're out of your minds..." Heero murmured, eyes uncharacteristically wide with shock, "Utterly mad..."

"Let's put it to a vote then." Quatre said with a small smile, rising to his feet, "All those for allowing Miss Baker off-base to re-enroll in high school?"

The hands of all five doctors shot into the air, along with his own, Sally's and Trowa's.

"All opposed?"

Duo, Heero and Wufei's hands rocketed up.

"Well boys, at a vote of eight to three, the motion is carried." Instructor H smirked, twisting the end of his dark mustache between his fingers as he rose to his feet, "Ahhh, this shall be fun."

"Now that that's settled, I'm in the mood for a cup of tea." Doctor S remarked, scratching the side of his nose as he advanced towards the exit, "Care to join me gentlemen?"

"Now that does sound pleasant." Master O remarked, chuckling at the opened mouth expressions of disbelief on pilot's 01, 02, and 05's faces as he passed, "I'll take you up on that offer."

* * *

A/N: Sidra is re-enrolled in school and discovers that no matter how far forwards in time you're thrown, or what dimension you're in, high school is still high school no matter where you go.


	7. School

A/N: A bit longer than the previous chapters - is it weird I already know how this story is going to climax and end? Oh well, even if it is, enjoy!

* * *

"_**BWAH!**_" I shrieked, being rudely awakened by a large pile of something being dumped in my lap; I whipped my head up to drink in the sight of none other than Duo, looking far from happy, staring down at me.

Self-consciously, I grabbed my blankets and yanked them to my chin - I'd never been overly partial to people I'm not familiar with seeing me in my pajamas, and the fact that mine happened to be a backless hospital gown made my discomfort grow tenfold; the fact that person in question also happened to be not only a boy, but the subject to my embarrassing crush from two years ago only made it even worse.

"You sure are full of interesting sounds." Duo snorted, a tiny hint of a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth, momentarily forgetting his displeasure.

I glanced down to see what he'd dropped on me - books...not just books, but text books; I felt my eyes grow wide as I raised my head to gape at the Deathscythe pilot.

"D...does this mean that...that I'm...?" I couldn't even finish; I could bring myself to hope that these paranoid, war scarred boys would ever consider letting me resume my schooling.

Duo nodded his head, and apparently could help but smile now, "You start in three weeks, and you have a lot of catching up to d**WAH!**"

I had grabbed him by the lapels and was violently throttling him before my brain had full registered what I was doing.

"**ARE YOU _SERIOUS?!_**" I screeched, shaking him with strength I didn't know I possessed, "Don't lie to me! Is this **real!?**"

"**_YES!_ NOW STOP SHAKING ME!**" Duo yelped, eyes wide with surprise as I hopped off the bed and started spinning in circles joyfully; fortunately I remembered the fact I was still wearing my hospital garb and stopped short, flouncing happily back on the bad and hugging several of the text books to my chest.

"Sheeeesh...simple girl simple pleasures I guess." Duo muttered under his breath, scratching the back of his head sheepishly, "And here I thought teenagers dreaded the thought of going to school."

"Oh I do, I'm not simple, and last I checked _you're_ a teenager too." I fired back, narrowing my eyes at him as I flipped open the math book, "I never said that I liked school, just that I wanted to finish it; its a goal...MY mission if you will."

"Oh yeah? Care to expand on that?" Duo asked, grabbing Sally's exam chair and flipping it backwards, taking a casual seat and resting his chin on the shoulder rest.

"Think about it; it isn't too hard to understand." I replied vaguely, trying to make sense of the equations in front of me using mental math, "You spend twelve years in public education. That is a good chunk of your life gone all in the pursuit of knowledge and a certificate that says so; a dumb piece of paper that holds power over your future and determines how much more you can expect on your salary. I'm sure it sounds silly, but I can't rest until that stupid diploma is in my hand."

* * *

"How'd it go?" Trowa inquired politely as Duo walked into the mess hall, taking in the unreadable expression on his fellow pilot's face.

"She was thrilled." Duo replied, taking an empty tray from the stack as he moved to the hot line, "She actually smiled; I've never seen her make that expression before. I'm used to her being horrified, ready to puke, or-"

"We get it - no need to elaborate, Maxwell." Wufei groaned, moving his own tray out of the way to avoid the braided boy's elbow knocking his bottle of orange juice over his food as the mischievous pilot reached over him to grab a roll.

"Do you still doubt her motives, Duo?" Quatre asked, already seated at their reserved table with Sally, spearing a piece of chicken with his fork, and looking over Duo's face inquisitively, "You seem troubled."

"Hm? Oh...no." Duo replied, walking over and taking the empty seat next to Sally, "I believe her when she says she wants to continue her education...its...well..."

"Spit it out, Duo." Heero said tersely, burning holes into his fellow pilot's forehead with his gaze, "You're putting me off my meal with these histrionics."

"Well...I'm just wondering what exactly we should do next." Duo replied, scooping up some peas into his spoon and taking a bite, "Will it really be okay letting her go to that school by herself? What if its attacked and she defects to OZ out of fear?"

"I don't think you'll have to worry much about that." Sally answered, raising an eyebrow out of annoyance at the pilot talking with his mouth full of food, "I have no doubt of where her loyalties lie."

"Really now - done a bit of female bonding have we, mother hen?" Wufei retorted, uncapping his juice and taking a sip, ducking quickly to avoid the back of the former Alliance major's hand.

"I agree with Sally." Quatre jumped in, blue eyes stormy at the disrespect the Chinese pilot displayed, "In all honestly, she probably has the least amount of reasons to ever betray our trust of anyone on this planet."

"Mind elaborating on that, Winner?" Heero asked, narrowly saving his teriyaki bowl from being pilfered by Duo as he shifted it quickly towards the safety of his elbow and closed his arm around it.

"Tch...so stingy." Pilot 02 pouted, returning his attention to his own plate.

"Not at all." Quatre replied coolly, taking a long sip of water before continuing, "I've been over her records several times - she has no living relatives. Her parents were the only children to their respective families, and Sidra the sole child born to her parents. After her murder, they never had another child - most likely out of fear and grief; the people here at this base? We're the only familiar faces she has. Not even in a personal sense - you've seen her memories, the ones of us from the fictional cartoon from her dimension? Well right now we are quite literally everything she has - the only familiar thing she has to cling to. Betraying us would be far more detrimental to her than anything because if she ever were to, she knows too well that she would be all alone and left to her own devices."

A heaviness filled the air at the weight of the Arab's words of truth; Wufei didn't lift his head for the rest of the meal and the group cleared their plates and left the mess hall in silence.

* * *

I walked through the hallway cautiously and peered nervously around the corner; this was my first time leaving the confines of my room and honestly, I had no clue where I was going.

It was stupid, I know, but I had to attempt to find help in some form - I didn't have much time and I knew it.

Biting my lip, I approached a door that I sincerely hoped would contain someone who would be knowledgeable enough to assist me with my quandary, and knocked softly.

"You may enter." a laughing voice replied, the doors sliding open to reveal all five doctors, hard at work on modifications to their respective ward's mobile suits on wall sized monitors.

"Well, if it isn't the little traveler." Instructor H remarked, tearing his eyes away from his work to approach me, "This is a pleasant surprise indeed."

"Its very nice to meet you, sirs." I replied meekly, squeezing the book in my arms a bit more tightly out of nerves, "I'm Sidra..."

"You may call me Instructor H." the man replied, twisting his thin mustache between his forefinger and thumb, "If your memory files serve, you're already aware of me and my associates though, so really, introductions are purely a formality."

"I suppose...um...so...I was wondering..." I said slowly, fingering the bindings of the math book in my arms uncomfortably.

"When we could send you back?" Master O interrupted me, causing me to look up in surprise.

"Um...yes...and no?" I replied awkwardly, noting five expressions of surprise.

"No?" Doctor S inquired, taking a few steps closer to peer at me; it was then that I finally noticed that his nose was a prosthesis and what I had pawned off for years as odd whiskers were actually elasticized strings holding it in place.

"W...well, I assumed that even if it IS possible to send me back, that it would take quite awhile to create something that could." I said tentatively, glancing around at them, "Not too mention due to the war, that it wouldn't be your first priority?"

"...well deduced." Professor G remarked with a smile, stroking his thick mustache, "You're quite correct, but then...what could you have come here for?"

"Well, I was wondering...ifoneofyouwouldn'tmindtooterriblyexplainingth eseformulastomeplease?" I rushed, gluing my eyes to the floor, feeling myself blush; I couldn't ever imagine them possibly agreeing to, so I completely missed the feral, hungry gleam manifesting in their eyes.

"Why certainly!" they all answered jovially causing my head to rocket back up so quickly I was amazed I didn't get whiplash; I brushed a thick amount of red curls from my eyes, unable to stop the relief from filling my face.

"R-really?! Thank you so so much!"

* * *

Sally walked towards Sidra's room, trying to shut Quatre's words from her mind; the last thing the poor girl needed was negativity while she was trying to recover.

She had barely raised her fingers to open the door when several excitedly chattering voices reached her ears from the opposite direction.

She glanced up and could not believe the sight she was seeing; all five doctors and the red head - still in her hospital gown no less - walking back toward's Sidra's room talking in intervals and explaining quadratic equations to the girl as she jotted down notes in her text books.

"This makes perfect sense now!" Sidra exclaimed, a relieved, happy expression filling her face as she broke into a huge smile and hugged all five elder men at once in a bear hug, "Thank you so much. I'm positive I'll be able to catch up now. Oh hi, Sally! Check up time again?"

"...not this time." Sally replied, regaining her composure and smiling at the girl as the doctors returned to the lab, waving over their shoulders at her, "What was that all about?"

"Oh...well...I needed help with my math - the level that I'm expected to know we wouldn't even touch til our second year of college in my time." She explained as her pale freckled face tinged pink from embarrassment, bringing the text book up to her nose to attempt to conceal the blush.

Sally chuckled, and opened the door, ushering the girl inside, "No check up this time. I'm here to take your measurements actually."

"Huh?" the red-head balked, setting the book down on the bed, her green eyes filled with confusion, "Why would you need those?"

"Well, if you're okay with going to school in that backless gown, I suppose I don't need to." Sally teased, giggling when the girl turned so red he face blended in to her hair.

"N-no...no...that's..well..." the teenager stammered, twisting her long curls around both hands and averting her green eyes to a corner of the room, "G-go ahead then."

Sally had to bite her lip to keep from laughing out loud; it was hard for her to believe that the pilots felt so threatened by such a harmless girl.

She made quick work of taking the girl's measurements and sent them out to have a selection of clothing arranged before clearing a space on the bed and taking a seat next to Sidra, whom had already resumed studying.

"Diligent, aren't you?" Sally remarked, watching her patient's bright green eyes flick across the page she was on.

"I have to be, don't I?" Sidra replied back absentmindedly, turning the page, "I mean...you're indulging my selfishness for whatever reason...last thing I want is to thank you all by blowing my cover."

Sally smiled and rose to her feet, "Just do your best - that's all we ask."

* * *

I shuffled nervously from foot to foot; the time had slipped by far too quickly - where had three weeks gone?

A safe house had been purchased within walking distance of Sky Valley High School and all five pilots and myself had been relocated to it - my room (shocker) was on the first floor, right next door to Quatre's, while the remaining boys roomed upstairs; I wasn't a hundred percent sure why all five were necessary to watch me, but they did as they saw fit; I had a hunch that they were probably on a mission and were simply choosing to leave me out of the group, though.

Trowa had escorted me to the school and back until he was completely satisfied I had learned the route by heart, meaning he'd made me walk to and from the school around three hundred times since our arrival.

He wasn't much for conversation either - at least not with me - which made the treks particularly uncomfortable as we paced to and from each location in absolute silence; I guess my unruly hair was truly a spectacle as when ever anyone passed by us, they would either gawk or whisper in hushed tones to whomever they were with - when I paused to think about it, the only other person I had ever noted in the series with even slightly curly hair was Trowa's own sister, Catherine.

Duo, Wufei and Heero had enrolled themselves in the private Brighton Academy the next city over - several children of high ranking OZ agents attended the silver spoon school so it would be a good for gathering information which made my theory of there being a mission I wasn't included in all the more likely.

Quatre and Trowa would be both minding the house, doing reconnaissance and intelligence work and with their combined skills, it would be an easy task no doubt; the pair had opted out from enrolling in any of the nearby schools as both were far too recognizable as the Winner Foundation heir and a internationally known circus star.

That morning had been my first walking to the campus alone, and I did so amidst a sea of babbling happy faces, regaling each other with tales of summer vacation and sights seen; I had to swallow hard to silence the wrenching pain in my chest - were I back at home...had the events that transpired not occurred, perhaps I would have been doing the same with Mina and Karli.

I had entered the building and found the office, nervously asking the friendly faced woman behind the desk for a map to locate my first class; she had handed it over with a smile.

After getting turned around twice, I finally located my homeroom class - history - and cautiously opened the door; the noisy chattering slowly grew silent as the classroom registered me and took the sight of me in with critical stares as I approached the teacher.

"Ah, you must be our transfer student." he said with a smile, reaching out and giving my hand a firm shake, "I'm Mr. Walker - pleasure to meet you."

He turned to address the class, "Class, this our transfer student, Sidra Baker. Sidra, why don't you take the empty seat by the window?"

I nodded and made my way to my chair, trying to shut out the whispers:

"Look at her hair...what did she do, make out with an electrical socket?"

"Look at how thin she is...ten bucks she's anorexic, dude."

"Nice clothes...if looking like you're fifty is in fashion."

_"Nice to know somethings never change."_ I thought bitterly, taking my seat and pulling my text book from my bag, _"Bleh...at least THIS is familiar."_

* * *

I'd hoped the lesson would proceed relatively smoothly after that, but that would simply be far to convenient now would it?

Not even five minutes into the lesson about the first colonists to settle in outer space and the girl behind me was tweeking my curls, and she wasn't being particularly gentle either; I should be oblivious to it really - it tended to happen back at my own high school every year...but at least they had a gentler hand than this - it felt like she was trying to rip pout my hair a section at a time.

"Would you mind knocking that off?" I hissed between my teeth as quietly as I could, "If you're gonna scalp me at least do it all in one go rather than a strand at a time!"

"Oops! Sorry!" I was shocked, I hadn't expected a response; maybe an evil chuckle and the person to continue as they were with more force, "I'll try not to do it anymore, but it's gonna be hard...your hair is so...so...springy! So tuggable! I've never seen anything like it."

I had to stifle a laugh - she was sounding just like Luca when I first met her in elementary school.

"If you're a bit more gentle when you're pulling it, then I wont be bothered." I whispered back, a smile creeping over my face, "But in exchange, you have to show me the ropes around here."

"I can live with that - deal!" the girl behind me chirped happily, as I felt her fingers sift through my hair for another curl, "Like this?"

I just barely felt the pull this time, and nodded wordlessly; she appeared satisfied with this response and resumed her "activity" until the bell rang.

* * *

On the walk home, I was actually skipping - the day had gone far better than expected; I had made a new friend, whom I found out after class was named Rebecca, who had given me a full school tour, and introduced me to her group of friends - it turned out we had every other class together and shared the same lunch period, and we sat at their table.

Not even twenty feet from the school entrance, I felt a hand thwap me on the shoulder; turning, I smiled brightly at Quatre, "Come to walk me home I take it?"

"Mmhm - Trowa had some reservations of letting you walk alone." He replied, making my shoulders slag in exasperation; the action definitely wasn't lost on him either as he quickly replied, "Not that he doesn't believe you don't know the way or anything like that."

"I'm not even going to honor that sad attempt at lying with a response." I said lackadaisically, not even bothering to lift my head, "I don't know what I expected really...oh well, your guy's trust definitely isn't easily earned."

"Sidra, watch-!" Quatre's warning came a bit too late as I walked face first into a light pole, sending me into a string of curses and my hands flying to my face, "Are you okay?"

"I'm **fine**, Quatre." I spat, feeling my face glow with an uncomfortable blush as I asked the million dollar question, "Please tell me no one was around to see that."

"Just me and a stray cat across the way." Quatre replied, placing a hand on my back and guiding me in the right direction towards the house, "Are you sure you're alright?"

"Yes, I'm sure." I sighied with relief as the heat dissipated from my cheeks, "The only thing that would have been injured is what little pride I have left."

"I'm going to take a look at it when we get home, regardless." Quatre said, removing the hand from my back as I raised my head, "No arguments."

I stopped walking and looked at him critically.

"What?" He asked nervously, raising an eyebrow.

"Quatre, you know that you boys are among the last people I would ever attempt to argue with." I responded, shaking my head as I continued down the path, "Color me strange, but I value my life."

Chuckling behind his hand, he sped up to match my pace.

* * *

A/N: Hazing, kitchen fires, and someone watching Sidra - ooooo...mysteryyy! See you next chapter!


	8. Smoke

A/N: Sorry for the delay, guys. I had to rewrite everything when the file accidentally got deleted. Between that and starting up at a new shop, things have been pretty hectic. But no matter - I made this chapter EXTRA long to compensate! Enjoy! :D

* * *

I had to hand it to Wufei - were I him, and possessed his level of martial arts prowess, I'm fairly certain I would have sent Duo into a coma long before now; I knew from the series he was a little sarcastic and liked teasing people, but the anime and manga clearly hadn't expanded to the level of annoying he was behind the scenes.

For starters, he had found it positively hilarious that I'd walked into a pole, but I suppose I do have to give him that one - I'd have laughed too if I had found out Heero, or Wufei, or any of them had done the same really; and he'd found the goose egg on my forehead even funnier.

What was killing me though was a newly discovered habit of his; Duo liked to hover...a lot - more specifically, he liked to hover over my shoulder while I was trying to decipher the word scramble for my French class...though I suppose I was asking for it by choosing to study in the living room and not opting for my own like Heero and Wufei, but I highly doubted those two were studying - its not like they were attending Brighton to enrich themselves on anything other than some potentially classified information.

Finally, I snapped, "Can I help you with something Duo?"

"Nahhh...Its just fun watching the faces you pull." He replied with a grin, making a muscle in my cheek twitch - I was struggling to remember why I had ever had a crush on him lo those years ago; I ground my teeth together and bit my tongue to keep from spitting out my typical response which I was fairly certain would get my head shot off, "You look like you want to say something nasty." - **_BULLSEYE!_**

I shut my French book with a snap and hurriedly gathered up my homework, "I think I'll just relocate to a room with a closed floor plan...and a door." I replied quickly, scuttling towards the hall, only to find my path blocked by Duo's leg which I narrowly avoided falling over.

"Sayyy ittt." he smirked, an evil smile filling his face as I felt myself begin to sweat out of nerves; now, were we friends? I would have no reservations about speaking freely - but we aren't friends in any sense of the word.

"I...think not." I stammered, taking a step back...and running smack into someone, "Oops! Sorry."

"Am I missing something?" Trowa asked mildly, as I turned around to face him, noting Duo's strange posture and my own red frustrated face, "...get your foot off the wall - I doubt anyone wants to clean up that mess."

"She's holding back what she really wants to say." Duo taunted, swinging his foot down from the wall in compliance with Trowa's order and striding uncomfortably close to me and bending to my eye level, "Cmon - spit it out already."

Trowa raised an eyebrow at me appraisingly, "Interesting...what's holding you back, I wonder?" he asked, peering at me inquisitively; it was bad enough with just the self-proclaimed God of Death prodding at me, but now the knife throwing circus clown was joining the act?

"Because I value my life!" I yelped, shuffling away from the pair, nearly tripping over a pair of Heero's shoes that he had left by the door, "Can't you just let it go?"

"Why would what you say put your life in danger, woman?" Wufei drawled lazily as he descended the stairs and made his way towards the kitchen, "Is it possible you've blown your cover so quickly? I do believe that would be a record."

"I did NOT blow my cover, Wufei." I growled, glaring at his back as he took up a knife and began peeling an apple, "If the six of us were friends, saying what I would have normally said wouldn't be an issue at all, but the fact of the matter is that we aren't and most likely one or more of you would take what I say seriously and kill me on the spot."

"Will you just come out with it already?" Duo asked exasperatedly, making my last strand of patience snap so hard I was shocked that the sound wasn't actually audible.

"**FINE!** Do you want me to _**murder you?**_" I seethed, getting close enough to nearly bump foreheads with him - an act that clearly startled him, "I will **kill** you in your **_sleep!_** I will **pee** on _**everything**_ you love! **THERE!** _**THAT**_ is what I normally would have said - **HAPPY NOW?!**"

Duo balked for a moment, and then burst out laughing so hard he was doubled over and Wufei nearly lost his grip on the piece of fruit he held; I could even hear Trowa snorting behind me, struggling to keep himself from laughing out loud, "Ugh...why did I ever like you, Duo? I'm going to my room."

"So you don't anymore?" Duo wheezed, taking a few deep breaths and he struggled to regain his composure.

"No." I barked in utter annoyance, striding past him to the hall, "I got over you the same time I got over Daniel - two years ago, when I entered high school. You're old news, braid boy."

"HA! You owe me twenty credits, Wufei!" He crowed as I groaned loudly and walked down to my room and closed the door with a snap.

"Ughhh...note to self - NEVER attempt to study in the living room when Quatre's out grocery shopping." I thought to myself, sprawling out on my bed to get back to work.

* * *

The noise coming from down stairs had rapidly become to raucous to ignore any longer and with a heavy sigh, Heero closed his laptop with a snap and made his way downstairs, observing on his descent Duo trailing Wufei who had a rather sour expression on his face as he tried to elude the braided pilot who was practically radiating glee.

"Okay, I'm going to regret asking, but I have to know - what is he so happy about?" Heero inquired of Quatre, home from grocery shopping and stocking the shelves of the pantry with Trowa; nodding in Duo's direction, "He looks far too happy over there."

Trowa quickly turned towards the pantry and an unmistakable snicker was heard; a smile spread across Quatre's face as he pulled two boxes of cereal from the remaining grocery bag, "Do you remember the wager Wufei made with him a few weeks ago?"

"Where he bet Duo that the girl still had feelings for him and Duo disagreed?" Heero answered slowly, raising an eyebrow as Trowa apparently regained his composure and started pulling pans out and placing them on the stove, "What about it?"

"Well...let's just leave it at, Wufei is in debt to the God of Death." Trowa replied, mirth lacing his voice as he began cutting up some vegetables, "Turns out the girl hasn't fancied him, or anyone for that matter, for a few years. She lost all romantic inclinations when she entered high school it would seem."

"Well, that's surprising." Heero remarked, taking the cue from the Heavyarms pilot and taking up a knife to slice up some beef for their evening meal, "I will say though, I suppose its a bit comforting to know not all girls in Relena's age group are so...ruled by their emotions."

"To be fair though, she has settled down a considerable amount." Quatre said gently, stepping easily to the side to avoid being bowled over by Duo, still hot in pursuit of the twenty credits he was due from Wufei, whose expression was growing more and more irritable with each passing moment, "Her responsibilities as the ruler of a kingdom keep her a bit more focused, I think. She has her obligations to her people, and it redirects all of that passionate energy."

"At least she isn't beckoning for me to come kill her anymore." Heero nodded, task completed; he walked to the sink and rinsed off the cutting utensil as Trowa used his spatula to scrape the raw meat into the frying pan to sear.

"Hey Heero, wanna help me collect the credits I'm owed?" Duo asked as he zipped past, still on Wufei's trail as the Shenlong pilot continued to increase his pace.

"No, he doesn't!" Wufei snapped in agitation as he moved even faster to elude the Deathscythe pilot, "He isn't so immature as to allow himself to be dragged into your foolishness. Besides, I spoke in jest - I don't owe you a thing!"

"Really, because I distinctly recall you both shaking on it." Heero replied, feeling a smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth as he too began to advance on the boy, "And don't presume to speak for me, Chang...remember, I said that it isn't wrong to act on your emotions...and right now, mine are telling me that you lost and you need to pay up"

"Oh for the love of _**god!**_" Wufei cried, giving up on speed walking and breaking out into a run, Heero and Duo right on his heels as they chased him up the stairs and into his room, which he ran into and closed the door; he quickly locked it and dashed across the room to the window, preparing to leap out it as the locks gave way as his fellow pilots kicked it in and chased after him out the window, "All this over twenty credits?!"

Heero nodded at Duo, who took his cue and dashed off around the left side as he took the right to box in the black haired boy; it wouldn't be that simple of course - Wufei picked up on the plan and quickly wrenched open the front door, dashed through it and down the hall towards Quatre's room, knocking into the blonde as he did so.

Quatre was thrown back straight into Trowa, who immediately lost his grip on the pan he was making stir fry in, causing hot oil to splash over the active stove top; flames erupted and the air filled with smoke - Trowa and Quatre, acting quickly, doused the oil fire as fast as they could.

So preoccupied were they that when a sharp feminine shriek split the air, they hardly noticed; Sidra, armload of homework that had just barely been salvaged from being torn and trampled on as the three pilots tore through her room, staggered into the kitchen - gagging and choking on smoke.

"What the** hell** is going on?!" she asked feebly, coughing hard as Quatre busied himself with throwing open windows.

"This is one of those 'its best not to ask' situations." He replied sheepishly.

* * *

I plodded through the entrance of the school, still completely drained from the events of the night before; I had finally manage to piece together what had happened - something along the lines of Wufei owing Duo money and refusing to pay up.

Dinner had been ruined because of it, so even though Duo got his credits, he had to fork them over to Quatre and Trowa so they could go out and order something to replace it; I was going to ask why they didn't just place the order over the phone, but fortunately for me I realized the blissful ignorance in the question and bit it off before it had escaped my lips.

It was raining, not hard enough to utterly soak me, but still enough to make me cold, damp and a tad irritable; I suppose it showed because Rebecca was quick to comment on it.

"I'm guessing by the look on your face that tweeking your curls is out today?" she asked as she caught up to me in the hall as I was twirling the combination on my locker.

"Nah, you're good so long as you stay gentle." I replied ruefully, stacking the books and assignments I wouldn't need til later, and slamming the door shut, "Last night got a bit hectic with my family, so I'm a bit tired."

"I'll just have to be extra gentle then." she chirped, patting me on the back as we walked towards history, "Ooooo, Sidra - don't look now, but you have an admirer."

I gazed in the direction she was pointing to have a pair of light brown eyes return my stare; pale skin, silvery blonde hair that hit his collar, square wire rimmed glasses, and a tall slender frame.

I felt the fine hairs on the back of my neck and arms raise, and felt my flight response trigger - every cell in my body was screaming for me to run away as fast as I could and not stop until I couldn't see him anymore; I couldn't imagine why either, I'm sure he was probably nice enough...even though my entire body was screaming otherwise.

"You're in trouble, girl." I heard Rebecca say, tearing my eyes away to focus on her round, pretty face, "That's Peter White - Madeline Rich has been gunning for him since middle school."

"Who?" I asked, trying desperately to ignore the holes Peter's eyes were burning into my back as we walked to our seats; to my dismay, Peter entered the classroom and took a seat in a far corner - he _would_ be in my homeroom.

"Her." she replied, nodding at a girl two desks from the door; long dark brown hair to her waist, intense blue eyes framed by long, dark lashes and a cute button nose - she was absolutely stunning, and in my mind I could easily see her and that Peter boy being one of those couples that make everyone else on campus sick with their perfection.

"Don't be fooled." I heard Rebecca warn as the rest of the desks began to fill, "She may look like an angel, but she is absolutely ruthless when it comes to the things she wants. If she catches Peter looking at you the way he did, you're definitely going to be in for it."

"Well, she's more than welcome to him." I replied quietly, turning around in my seat to face her - there was still ten minutes til the bell so it was still safe, "I'm too busy playing catch up with my course work - who has the time to balance all this and maintain a relationship?"

"Me." Rebecca smirked, reaching forward and lightly tugging a curl near my cheek, "But I will admit it is difficult - he has baseball practice and games after school, I have my part time job...I can definitely understand where you're coming from in a way."

"See? Besides, I can honestly say I'm not interested." I smiled, poking her side and making her yelp; I stifled a laugh - she really was cute.

"Oh? Have your eyes on someone else?" she teased, leaning forward in her seat and giving me a very probing look, "What's his name? What's he look like? Where's he live?"

"There's no one!" I said exasperatedly, turning back around in my seat, "You clearly weren't paying very close attention to what I was saying."

"Oh there's always someone." she giggled, taking up her usual activity of tugging on the curls on the back of my head, "It may or may not be subconscious, but there's always someone."

I rolled my eyes and opened my History book, trying to ignore the fact that Peter was staring at me again - I refused to look, but I could feel it; I knew he was by the cold, sinking feel in the pit of my stomach, however, if I had bothered to look? I would have seen Madeline's vivid blue eyes following his gaze and glaring at me viciously.

* * *

I sincerely wished that Rebecca didn't have a doctor's appointment - I sincerely doubted I would be in this situation if she was here; it was lunch time when she had to leave, and without her linking arms with me and leading the way, I was quickly cornered and dragged off to the girls bathroom by a gaggle of my own gender, none of whom I recognized.

Once there, I found myself staring into the impossibly blue eyes of none other than Madeline Rich, whose lovely face was twisted into the sourest of frowns; she circled me closely, staring me up and down - she took a handful of my unruly curls into her hand to examine them before letting them slip between her fingers.

I already knew in the back of my mind that this was most likely not going to end well.

"So...I couldn't help but notice my dear Peter has taken notice of you." she said slowly, in a honeyed voice that far from matched the unpleasant look on her face; artificially sweet, "I don't suppose you would know this, what with this only being your second day here. but...I'm afraid I must inform you he's off limits."

I had to bite back a scathing remark - something along the lines of, "Oh really? Because word through the grapevine is that he's been dodging you for years." I knew better though - I didn't want any trouble; I honestly just wanted to go to the cafeteria and eat my lunch in peace.

"Well, thank you for informing me, but I honestly have no intentions of pursuing him." I answered slowly, trying to gauge her reaction as I surreptitiously inched my way towards the exit, "I have enough on my plate juggling schoolwork and my home life to even consider boys."

"That's lovely, but I don't quite think you get it." she chuckled darkly as she advanced on me like a cat stalking a mouse, "I've caught him staring at you numerous times. At first I thought that it must simply be that ridiculous mass growing out of your head that had him so intrigued...but then, that loses its charm rather quickly, wouldn't you agree?"

I felt my back meet the door, and without giving a reply, I leaned back with all my weight, making the door fly open; twisting quickly, I broke out into a run, inwardly wishing I was more athletic as I heard Madeline and her minions give chase.

I didn't make it far before I ran smack into someone; at first, I thought that this would be some horrible anime cliche' where I would find myself face to face with Peter, but thankfully today was not that day - it was Michael King, Rebecca's boyfriend.

"Whoa, what's the rush?" He asked, a perplexed look on his face as he noticed the girls chasing after me come screeching to a halt and balking at the sight of him; I could understand why - Michael stood nearly six foot four and was quite muscular for someone his age.

"I'll explain..later." I wheezed, doubled over and gasping for air; I was honestly humiliated how out of shape I was - especially compared to the rest of the population in this alternate universe,, "Just...just please walk with me to the lunch room. They'll try it again if I'm alone, I just know it"

"No problem." he replied, ushering me to the cafeteria and helping me into a chair, "Now, ya mind filling me in? That was honestly kind of nuts."

"Ugh...I don't know - that girl Madeline somehow has gotten it into her head that either I want that Peter White kid she likes or that he likes me." I muttered irritably, opening my lunch bag and digging into the contents with relish, "Is she always this adorable?"

"Only when it comes to that guy." Michael replied with a snort, taking a bite of his own sandwich, "I'm not even sure if she even really likes him. I just know he's one of the few guys in this school who hasn't worshiped the ground she walks on."

"Oh, really now? Then why hasn't she come chasing after you I wonder." I smirked at him, making him choke on a bite of carrot stick; his tan cheeks visibly flushed red as he struggled to regain his breath.

"Because she's already had me." he admitted, causing my jaw to drop so quickly that my bite of leftover teriyaki to almost slip out of my mouth, "She and I dated back in ninth grade for a few months before she got bored and dumped me. I admit, I was pretty broken up about it til Becca came along. She said_ 'if it'll make you stop moping, I'll be your girlfriend.'_ I took her up on the offer and we've been together ever since."

"N'awww, that's so cute." I smiled, recovering from my shock and taking another bite of rice; I chuckled and took a sip of apple juice, "Definitely sounds like something she'd say too."

"Oh man...Sid, don't look." Michael whispered sharply, looking down quickly at his food; he didn't need to tell me - I already knew by the goosebumps rising on my skin and the chill running down my back that Peter was right behind me.

I refused to look up, and focused my gaze so hard on the food in front of me that my eyes actually began to ache from the strain; I ignored the holes burning into my back and willed with all my might for him to go away, and thankfully he did after a moment.

"Okay...that was creepy." Michael muttered, turning his head ever so slightly to watch Peter cross the lunch room and pass through the doors into the hall, "I don't suppose you'd need an escort home would you?"

"No, one of my brothers will be here to collect me." I murmured, suddenly no longer hungry, "An escort to the gate however, would be most welcome."

* * *

A/N: Peter gets creepier, the boys take off on a mission leaving Sidra unsupervised [or so she thinks] and much more! See you next chapter!


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